George Kittle

TE · Iowa
A two-year starter at Iowa, Kittle lined up primarily inline and on the wing and was used as more of a blocker in the Hawkeye?s power pro-style scheme. Kittle moved with his family to Norman in 2010 when he father (Bruce) was hired by his former college roommate (Bob Stoops) to be an assistant coach at Oklahoma. He had limited options on signing day in 2012, but fate prevailed when Iowa (his father?s alma mater) had other offers fall through, opening up a spot for him. After redshirting in 2012, Kittle played in 24 games as a redshirt freshman and sophomore, mostly on special teams, recording a combined six catches. He worked his way into the starting line-up as a junior and posted 20 catches for 290 yards and a team-best six touchdowns. With Henry Krieger-Coble (George?s cousin) and Jake Duzey graduated, Kittle became the full-time starter as a senior, but battled injury (11 starts) and finished with 22 receptions for 314 yards and four scores, earning All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors. Kittle doesn?t have an imposing frame and looks like a rocked-up wide receiver, but is an impressive blocker with his stubborn, aggressive temperament to create movement. He flashed route athleticism and ballskills on film, but injuries and Iowa?s run-first offense kept him from being consistently productive as a pass-catcher. Eight tight ends have been drafted in the Kirk Ferentz coaching tenure and Kittle has a chance to be the ninth as a late round possibility.